The Hills hoists of medicine

If someone asked you to name some examples of great Australian
design, what would spring to mind? Perhaps the Victa lawnmower or
the Holden ute. Or that TV-dinner classic, the Splayd.

But Australian companies are also world leaders in medical
design; a tradition that goes back to the development of the
"bionic ear" in the 1960s by Graeme Clark at the University of
Melbourne, and beyond.

This year's Australian Design Awards demonstrate that that
leadership remains strong. Four medical devices were given awards,
the top trophy going to a machine for treating sleep apnoea.

"We've got some really strong players in the fields of
biotechnology and medical devices and they're really leading the
world in their specific areas of innovation," says Stephanie
Watson, manager of the awards at Standards Australia.

The awards, which have been held for the past 50 years,
highlight the best in Australian product design, from kitchen
appliances to agricultural machinery and textiles.

This year they drew a bumper crop of more than 250 entries in 11
categories.

After an international panel cut those to a shortlist of 104,
the award judges picked the 42 finalists. Twelve of those are now
on show at the Powerhouse Museum, including the $9000 barbecue
designed by Jeppe Utzon, grandson of the Opera House architect
Joern, cordless lights and a tricycle for toddlers that folds up to
resemble a bug.

But the stars of the show are the medical devices, says curator
Angelique Hutchison - particularly the overall winner, a portable
device, shown right, for treating sleep apnoea from Sydney firm
ResMed.

About 10 per cent of Australian adults suffer from sleep apnoea,
a condition in which the upper airways collapse, often causing
severe sleep disturbance. Many patients are treated with devices
that use slightly pressurised air to keep the airways open.

The ResMed device, called the S8 Series Flow Generator and
HumidAire 3i, is one such "positive airway pressure" device, but
with a difference. It is more portable and less noisy than previous
devices, allowing patients to incorporate the treatment into their
lives more easily.

"It was such a big leap forward," Hutchison says, pointing out
that ResMed's designers were able to make it 69 per cent smaller
than its predecessor. "The design work that went into achieving the
reduction in size was quite significant. It was driven by trying to
make the device more portable and easier to use."

The ResMed flow generator looks like a miniature vacuum cleaner
attached via a long hose to a mask. But its real beauty is in the
details of its design, including carefully crafted parts that
minimise noise and help patients feel comfortable with the
device.

"It is a comprehensive design and beautifully executed," says
Australian Design Awards judge Robert Tiller, who loved the fact
that it has "so much technology squeezed into such a small
space".

The Powerhouse show also features a cochlear implant - a
descendent of Clark's invention that can help provide a sense of
hearing to people with moderate to severe hearing loss - from
Cochlear, another Sydney company.

Cochlear implants are made up of several parts. They include an
electronic module that is surgically implanted into the skin behind
the ear and connected to an electrode placed in the cochlear
cavity, as well as a speech processor worn like a hearing aid, and
software used by doctors to test the implant.

The Nucleus Freedom System from Cochlear was praised for the way
its design includes world-first innovations in a tiny system.

"This product has global significance that will go down in
history," the Australian Design Awards judges said.

Cochlear and ResMed are already world leaders in their fields; a
third company whose product features at the Powerhouse show is just
starting to make an impact.

Ventracor's product is a kind of pump designed to connect to the
heart and keep blood flowing around the body.

Known as a left ventricular assist device, similar devices are
used around the world. Their aim is to extend the life of people
with heart failure, and to keep alive patients who might otherwise
die while waiting for a transplant.

What makes the VentrAssist remarkable is the fact that it
contains just one moving part, a magnetically controlled "impeller"
that pumps the blood without damaging the cells in the blood.

The small, shiny metal implant is designed to be more reliable
and bio-compatible than other ventricular-assist devices, says
Ventracor's John Woodward.

The VentrAssist is another of Hutchison's favourites. "I love
the way it looks - shiny, like the idea of the bionic man," she
says.

The Design Awards judges felt much the same, citing it for its
"flawless design and extreme innovation in such a small and
efficient pump".

"It's hard to ignore the impact a product like this will have on
mankind," the judges said.